Thursday, July 22, 2010

Garden Party at Buckingham Palace

Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP, and his mother, Anne Grainger, were among the guests at yesterday's Buckingham Palace, hosted by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Anne Grainger is the granddaughter of the late Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, and the Earl of Athlone (ne Prince Alexander of Teck.) Ian is Anne's eldest son from her marriage to David Liddell-Grainger, who died in 2007.

Liddell-Grainger was the owner of Ayton Castle, and held the Scottish feudal barony of Ayton, which his father, Henry Liddell-Grainger, had bought for £90,000 (along with Ayton Castle and the estate) in 1895 from Alexander Harold Mitchell-Innes.
Feudal baronies are not to be confused with the fifth grade of the peerage (barons and, in Scotland, Lords of Parliament.) Feudal baronies are legitimate,and can be bought and sold. The holders are not called Lord. Feudal baronies are not considered peerages.
Ian, however, did not inherit Ayton Castle and its properties. His father did not leave anything to his children by his former wife, Anne, but to his son, David, whose mother, Christine, Lady de la Rue, was his longtime companion. They finally married in 1996.
Ian, as David's eldest son, inherited the Ayton barony, despite the fact that the property was inherited by his younger half-brother.

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